Shirui Lily Festival Queensryche rocks Shirock nite at Ukhrul

Mungchan ZimikUkhrul, Apr 29 : Famed American rock band of the early 80s Queensryche rocked Ukhrul on the closing nite of the second edition Shirock 2018 at Bakshi ground Dungrei Hungpung, yesterday.The winner of Shirock North East 2018 Strategy Reverse from Mizoram opened the nite for the Queensryche rock concert.Todd La Torre lead vocalist of Queensryche kept the crowd enthralled with his high pitched vocal with “Revelation calling” drawing thunderous applause from the crowd.Michael Wilton as the lead guitarist, Eddie Jackson on bass and back up vocal, Casey on the drums and Parker Lundgren with rhythm kept the crowd captivated with their series of hit songs including Operation, Mind Crime, Empire, Silent Lucidity, Take Hold of the Flame and altogether belted out 18 numbers from their albums.The American rock band was impressed with the hospitality and the scenic beauty of Ukhrul, far away from the mainland.Interacting with this correspondent, many in the audience expressed gratitude to the organisers of Shirock for bringing the American rock band to perform at Ukhrul.“It was a privilege to witness the rock band life on stage,” they said.A visitor from Imphal, Rosikanta a fan of Queensryche lauded Shirock.“It was a great musical nite,” he said adding that although the original singer of Queensryche Geoff Tate has been replaced by Todd La Torre the high pitched tone remains the same, carrying on the distinct identity of the rock band.Another visitor, Shakia a student from Dumdum, Kolkata said he had spent more than Rs 12000 in 2 days waiting for the Queensryche concert at Ukhrul although the concert was free. He said he has come all the way from West Bengal as he did not want to miss the opportunity of watching the American band live on stage. Rock lovers and fans from across the country arrived one day ahead of the rock concert.Volunteers stationed at the gate said that outside visitors outnumbered the locals for the Shirock nite.The fans and music lovers of the town started arriving at the concert venue from 3 pm to occupy a place near the stage.The town road was jam packed with vehicles and commuters. Strategy Reverse won the title Shirock North East Rock contest 2018 while the second and third position was tied between Avora record from Mizoram and Ambush from Assam and Dream Street from Manipur and Jammar Graveyard from Assam respectively.Seven individual prizes were also given.